The Situation:
Partnering with CIVC Partners, Bill acquired the assets of Oakmont Mortgage in 2003 and built OwnIT into a leading non-agency lender, growing originations from $1 billion annually to nearly $1 billion per month by 2005. The company's innovation, The RightLoan, used risk-based pricing to serve qualified borrowers the industry had overlooked. In 2005, Merrill Lynch took a 20% stake at a $500 million valuation.

Bill’s Approach:
As the mortgage crisis emerged, Bill saw the warning signs early: home prices outpacing incomes, rising early payment defaults. He cut high-risk lending and dropped monthly volume from $1 billion to $600 million. When Merrill Lynch, now both investor and competitor after acquiring First Franklin, shut off OwnIT’s credit line, Bill and his leadership team made the call to close the company quickly and transparently rather than bleed out slowly.

The Outcome:
OwnIT closed in December 2005, one of the first lenders listed on the mortgage industry's Implode-O-Meter. The closure returned approximately $40 million to creditors and $4.4 million to employees in final compensation, a far better resolution than most that followed.

 The Lesson:
“Duck or bleed. You can duck when there's incoming fire, or you can freeze, take hits, and bleed. You can't do both."